Home >> Your Questions About Genetic Engineering >> Do you believe that microwave ovens are good to be used to heat GMO foods? Does it affect the nutritional value of the GMO foods? I do note that GMO corn produces GMO corn syrup.

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QDo you believe that microwave ovens are good to be used to heat GMO foods? Does it affect the nutritional value of the GMO foods? I do note that GMO corn produces GMO corn syrup.

Question submitted By: english.d

Do you believe that microwave ovens are good to be used to heat GMO foods? Does it affect the nutritional value of the GMO foods? I do note that GMO corn produces GMO corn syrup.

To answer your question, let’s start with the explanation of GMO food and then address the issue of using heat from a microwave oven.

GMO, which stands for genetically modified organism, is a technically incorrect term. Unfortunately this term has become the most recognized one used to describe crops that have been modified genetically to resist pests or withstand applications of herbicides. Plant breeders have been using selective breeding methods to develop plants that are stronger or have various color or taste characteristics for decades. Think of a tangelo or broccolini. They are both well-known hybrids that have used traits from each original species to create a new one. A tangelo is a cross between a tangerine and pomelo. Broccolini is a cross between broccoli and kai-lan. When breeders create these new fruits and/or vegetables they are crossing hundreds of genes in each plant to get the outcome they want.

With respect to genetic engineering, scientists are building on the knowledge of plant breeding by identifying just one gene that expresses a desired trait; subsequently inserting that gene into the seed of the plant being modified. This is a more precise way of developing new plant varieties and is in some cases even safer than traditional breeding. The food that is harvested from these plants or crops is essentially the same as the original plant or crop but with one different gene. The crops look the same, taste the same and have the same nutritional value as the original plant or crop. There are no live organisms in the new food, hence the reason that the term GMO is technically incorrect.

So the answer to the second part of your question is fairly obvious. Since the genetically modified food is the same in every way as the unmodified food, using a microwave to heat the modified food would be no different either. You correctly state that GMO corn produces GMO corn syrup which is found in many packaged foods and as previously stated the modified corn syrup is no different than the non-modified corn syrup. Both will produce the same results when heated in a microwave.

When people refer to Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), they are referring to precision plant breeding using genetic engineering. It allows plant breeders to take a desirable trait (like resistance to drought, insects, weeds, and disease) from one plant or organism and transfer it to the plant they want to improve, as well as make a change to an existing trait in a plant they are developing. You may have also heard of agricultural biotechnology or biotech seeds.... Read More

An "LMO" (Living Modified Organism) is basically a GMO that is alive and capable of passing on its genes to a subsequent generation. In most situations, the terms LMO and GMO are essentially synonymous, but neither term is really used by most biotechnologists! More on that below.
The term LMO was used in the Cartegena Protocol (basically a big document that came out of an international convention several years ago, more detailed info here.)
The reason we as... Read More

Response from: Professor Drew Kershen, Earl Sneed Centennial Professor of Law (Emeritus), University of Oklahoma, College of Law • on November 15, 2017

Biotechnology as a discipline focuses on understanding molecular biology and has applications in medicine/health, environmental science, industrial products and agriculture. Biotechnology is widely used in all these sectors. I will focus my answer on agricultural biotechnology.
In many countries (e.g., Brazil, Canada, India, and the United States) a significant amount of agricultural research, especially basic research in molecular biology, is conducted by governmental agricultural... Read More

About the Expert

Lisa D. Katic is President of K Consulting, a practice based in Washington, DC specializing in food policy, communications and education. K Consulting creates awareness campaigns on hot button issues and provides strategic counsel for a number of clients. Lisa is an expert in scientific and regulatory programs in many areas, including: nutrition, biotechnology, functional foods, food labeling...